West's Keppel gets scholarship ball rolling

Published: Friday, November 21, 2003 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, November 21, 2003 at 3:17 a.m.

Softball season is still months away, but the first of what is likely to be a steady stream of college scholarships for the West Henderson program has already trickled over the dam.

Third baseman Melissa Keppel, a senior, will continue her career at NCAA Division II Pfeiffer University, located in Misenheimer, Lady Falcon coach Cathy Corliss said.

"I knew she was looking at different colleges, and Pfeiffer signed her really without seeing her play, just going on recommendations ... They gave her almost a whole full ride," Corliss said. "Academically, she's over a 4.0, I believe. She got academic money combined with scholarship money for softball."

Classroom performance certainly made Keppel's path to the next level smoother, but it was her strong play on the diamond that put her over the top. A good defensive player who hit .439 last season (25 of 57), Keppel was a key component of a West team that went 17-2 and tied for the Western Highlands Conference championship in 2002.

"I felt like she was a good enough skill player to get (a scholarship), but it's hard to be looked at," Corliss said. "She can hit it with some power, and she sees the ball good. She's a smart player -- that's why I have her at third. There's some quick decisions to be made there."

Melissa's value to the team doesn't end with a bat and a glove, however.

"She is a good leader, very positive, very coachable," Corliss said. "A lot of my girls are like that, and every year they pass that down and it makes our program strong."

Keppel was one of a whopping seven Falcons to earn All-WHC honors in 2003, and as good as she is she might not even be the best player on her own team. Or even her own family.

Sister Sam, a junior, led West with a .518 average last spring while playing a sparkling second base, and Corliss said that she's a potential D-I softball player. So is senior pitcher Shannon Harris, the reigning Times-News Player of the Year.

"Sam's definitely going to get a scholarship in softball. There's no doubt in my mind. ... She's just so good," Corliss said.

Rosman wasn't able to successfully defend its 2002 1-A state volleyball championship, falling to Starmount in the semifinals last month. But the Lady Tigers, who finished 24-6 as they captured both the Smoky Mountain Conference regular-season and tournament championships, were able to take home quite a bit of hardware from the league.

Senior setter Kelly Rice was named the SMC Player of the Year after she set a school record with 1,017 assists, a whopping average of 33.9 per match. She was joined on the all-conference team by fellow seniors Amanda Stansbury, Ashton Barton and Heather Whitmire.

Barton led the team in kills, averaging 11 per match, while Stansbury was right behind at 10.1 an outing. Both were also successful on better than 98 percent of their serves. Whitmire averaged 9.8 kills per match and served at 87 percent.

<p>Softball season is still months away, but the first of what is likely to be a steady stream of college scholarships for the West Henderson program has already trickled over the dam.</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>Third baseman Melissa Keppel, a senior, will continue her career at NCAA Division II Pfeiffer University, located in Misenheimer, Lady Falcon coach Cathy Corliss said.</p><p>"I knew she was looking at different colleges, and Pfeiffer signed her really without seeing her play, just going on recommendations ... They gave her almost a whole full ride," Corliss said. "Academically, she's over a 4.0, I believe. She got academic money combined with scholarship money for softball."</p><p>Classroom performance certainly made Keppel's path to the next level smoother, but it was her strong play on the diamond that put her over the top. A good defensive player who hit .439 last season (25 of 57), Keppel was a key component of a West team that went 17-2 and tied for the Western Highlands Conference championship in 2002.</p><p>"I felt like she was a good enough skill player to get (a scholarship), but it's hard to be looked at," Corliss said. "She can hit it with some power, and she sees the ball good. She's a smart player -- that's why I have her at third. There's some quick decisions to be made there."</p><p>Melissa's value to the team doesn't end with a bat and a glove, however.</p><p>"She is a good leader, very positive, very coachable," Corliss said. "A lot of my girls are like that, and every year they pass that down and it makes our program strong."</p><p>Keppel was one of a whopping seven Falcons to earn All-WHC honors in 2003, and as good as she is she might not even be the best player on her own team. Or even her own family.</p><p>Sister Sam, a junior, led West with a .518 average last spring while playing a sparkling second base, and Corliss said that she's a potential D-I softball player. So is senior pitcher Shannon Harris, the reigning Times-News Player of the Year.</p><p>"Sam's definitely going to get a scholarship in softball. There's no doubt in my mind. ... She's just so good," Corliss said.</p><p><li> <li> <li></p><p>Rosman wasn't able to successfully defend its 2002 1-A state volleyball championship, falling to Starmount in the semifinals last month. But the Lady Tigers, who finished 24-6 as they captured both the Smoky Mountain Conference regular-season and tournament championships, were able to take home quite a bit of hardware from the league.</p><p>Senior setter Kelly Rice was named the SMC Player of the Year after she set a school record with 1,017 assists, a whopping average of 33.9 per match. She was joined on the all-conference team by fellow seniors Amanda Stansbury, Ashton Barton and Heather Whitmire.</p><p>Barton led the team in kills, averaging 11 per match, while Stansbury was right behind at 10.1 an outing. Both were also successful on better than 98 percent of their serves. Whitmire averaged 9.8 kills per match and served at 87 percent.</p><p>Lady Tiger junior Lindsay Phillips was named honorable mention All-SMC after averaging 5.8 kills a match.</p><p>The Times-News encourages coaches to report all-conference teams from their respective sports. All reported teams will be published on High School Weekly.</p><p>Contact sports editor Ron Wagner at ron.wagner@hendersonvillenews.com</p>